E-Book Experiment

In my last post, I shared the cover for my upcoming paranormal thriller The Mummies of Blogspace9.  So this week, I'll tell you about the marketing experiment I have planned.  

It's bold, it's dangerous, it's potentially disastrous, but as my wife always tells me - this is what you do for fun, so if it stresses you out, stop writing and find something that doesn't stress you out.  

I've briefly considered the following alternative non-work activities: macrame, yoga, darts, and scrapbooking.  And I concluded that I still very much want to write.  So it's time to be bold and not stress too much about the consequences.  That being said, let me know what you think, and if you have any suggestions, I'm half ears.

To date, I have five books published; four novels and one archaeological tome.  Three were published by commercial presses, and two I did myself.  All are available on Amazon.com, and all have middling sales.  So I'm going to do something new for Mummies.  

I've been following the wisdom of Joe Konrath, the master-blogger and writer who compiles the Newbies Guide to Publishing.  He suggests the following steps for publishing success (and I'm paraphrasing here): 

1) write a truly great book; 

2) produce a truly great cover; 

3) offer the book exclusively in e-book format using Amazaon KDP Select; 

4) price the book at 99 cents; 

5) offer the book free for the first week; and finally 

6) pay to have your free book giveaway promoted.  

So that's my plan.  The final draft of The Mummies of Blogspace9 is currently being tuned by the experts at KindleGurus.com.  When I get it back, I'm going to shell out $230 to have it promoted on Bookbub.com, as Konrath suggests.

The hope is that the initial offering creates a bounce and results in more sales.  Of course, offering the book at 99 cents on Amazon will result in only 35 cents in royalties.  But as the economists tell us, it's all a matter of volume.  I don't know if I'm going to get rich from this, but like I said, it's an experiment, and I'm not going to worry too much about it or my wife will make me knit or weave something instead of writing.

But I'll still worry a little.  So if you have any thoughts, let me know.

Like Me. Friend Me!

I find it so funny that a few short months ago Facebook was not my friend. Not at all. I definitely didn’t “like” FB. When I first created a profile it sat there. I rarely posted. I mean for months. Sometimes I’d go on and make a brief comment on a post by one of my “friends”. I didn’t get FB, and using it confused me. Months would go by and I wouldn’t event visit FB.

Fast forward a couple of years and FB is now my friend. I talked about my use of FB as an author. Now I’m having great fun as a reader. I joined several FB groups. Two are readers groups that invited me (and other authors). Two are authors groups networking and sharing information. The other group is a hybrid of sorts. Reading In Black was started by author Deatri King-Bey. But the group is also for readers. Of course we authors are major readers/book geeks as well. The over arching goal of the group is to discuss mystery, thriller, horror, Sci-Fi, fantasy and paranormal novels written by and about POC (people of color).



I’ve discovered a long list of authors writing books I didn’t know existed. One example Steampunk written by and featuring POC. I didn’t know! I also have fallen in love with a genre called Sword and Soul – epic fantasy based on African traditions, culture and history. My first taste Griots, an anthology. I’m in love (huge Game of Thrones fanatic).

Since Fringe and Person of Interest debuted their fall season first episodes 9/28, those of us who are fans geeked out to discuss the story lines, actors, scripts and more. I’ve also been buying thrillers, mystery and paranormal novels. We discuss movies, so it’s not just about books. Though there is a lot of book talk. Saturday night (9/29) someone posted that Lake Placid, The Final Chapter would be on the SyFy channel. Spontaneously several of us started posting hilarious comments on FB while watching (silly dialogue, too stupid to live characters, who gets eaten first, etc.)

So I invite readers of the genres we read and write to stop by and consider joining up. We’re not just having a blast, but you’ll be able learn about wonderful books.
I’m writing a book I want to be on sale for the holidays. Now I have to make myself stay away from FB. 360 degree change. Seriously.

Guest author Angie Fox: Interview & Giveaway

 Novel Spaces welcomes New York Times bestselling author Angie Fox. She has a new series coming out about a group of paranormal MASH surgeons. She’s stopped by today to give away a signed copy of Immortally Yours and to talk with us about the new book.



To start, how did you come up with the plot for Immortally Yours?

I wanted to do something different. Plus, I love writing books that are not only about the hero and heroine, but also about the community where they live. A quirky, paranormal M*A*S*H unit sounded like a blast to write. Plus, I love books about special ops soldiers. So I made my hero a tough-as-nails wounded warrior and my heroine is the doctor who saves him (in more ways than one).

Immortally Yours definitely has your trademark humor. It’s ironic – and amusing. How natural is it for you to write “funny”? Is it ever a challenge to rein it in for the more serious parts?

One of the challenges – and the great joys – of writing Immortally Yours was balancing the humor with the drama of war.

Petra and her colleagues at the MASH 3063rd have been drafted until the end of the conflict, which is bad for Petra but even worse for people like her vampire roommate, Marius. They’re living in this quirky, ad-hock camp, trying to make the best of it while they work long hours in the OR, putting soldiers back together – knowing that they’re probably going to see these injured heroes again and again – if they’re lucky.

The underlying tragedy brings the oddball personalities in the camp together. They develop ways to keep their sanity and to create the kind of relationships that offer a port in the storm.

What can you tell us about Petra’s otherworldly sidekicks? (Are you an animal lover in general? They always seem to make a lot of appearances in your books.)

I am an animal lover. While there are no actual pets in Immortally Yours, we do have some creatures. I couldn’t resist. And really, it’s not Petra’s fault. Her roommate Rodger just happens to be keeping a few small swamp monsters. And when those babies shock him by having more babies, he has no choice but to adopt them out all over camp. Then we do have some supporting characters who happen to be creatures, like Jeffe the guard sphinx. On a side note, Jeffe is one of my favorite characters to write because he’s so infuriatingly logical, and it comes off in some unexpected ways.

Is there a set number of books for this series? 

It’s a trilogy. At the same time, each book will read as a stand-alone and each book has its own happy ending, because, let’s face it: we need happy endings these days.

Tell us about the creative marketing strategies for your books.

I’m all about creative marketing. It’s fun and my brain just thinks that way. Like for the Accidental Demon Slayer series, I developed the What’s Your Biker Witch Name quiz? It went viral, which has been a blast. You haven’t lived until you get emails from physicists in China telling you that their biker witch names are things like Wino Wally No Brakes and Two Date Tessa Hard Rider. And now for a shameless plug: you can get your biker witch name at: www.angiefox.com.

For Immortally Yours, I’m doing a quirky little viral program that is cracking me up right now because it is getting slightly out of control (which, in my world, means things are going well). I’m offering readers an interactive experience that centers around the news network that is covering the war.

In this new series, PNN is the paranormal version of CNN. So I’m basically setting up the “official” PNN website to be like The Onion, only paranormal. It allows me to have a blast, while giving readers a taste of the series and immersing them in the world of PNN.

The Giveaway
In fact, I’m centering my giveaway today around PNN. Just post your favorite headline from www.PNN-Network.com in the comments section below and you’re entered to win a signed copy of Immortally Yours!

*

Angie Fox is the New York Times bestselling author of several books about vampires, werewolves and things that go bump in the night. She is best known for her Accidental Demon Slayer urban fantasy series. She is also writing a series about a group of paranormal M*A*S*H surgeons. The first book in the Monster MASH trilogy, Immortally Yours, is out now. The second book, Immortally Embraced, will be released in February 2013.

Angie's website
Twitter: @AngieFoxauthor
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Vamps Romancing Humans and Vice Versa

I admit that I am not a big reader of paranormal romance involving humans and vampires (or werewolves for that matter).

However, since childhood, I have long been big on vampire-human romances on television and in the movies. My guess is that the popularity of this coupling in Hollywood productions mirrors that of fiction.

I believe that humans are drawn to romances that stray outside the lines, but are still within reason. Romance between a man and sheep would be bestiality or a perversion few would be attracted to. However, vampires and humans are close enough in appearance, desires, habits, histories, and such, that the attraction is an acceptable one for fans of paranormal romances. After all, vampires were once human, which could never be said about sheep or other mammals (unless a shapeshifter; but even then the attraction would not be there while the human was in sheep's wool, so to speak).

The male vampire, in particular, is a natural attraction in romance fiction. He is, in effect, a substitute for the dark and handsome, sexy and mysterious, human male in series and contemporary romance fiction. Think Dracula and any woman, before and after being sired. Or Barnabas Collins, the vampire of Dark Shadows gothic soap opera, who charmed and romanced a number of women such as Maggie Collins who bore a striking resemblance to his first love, Josette

Of course, in modern paranormal romances, there are just as many female vamps who are able to charm human males the same way as human women would--by being beautiful, shapely, sexy, charming, and desirable--only with the perhaps even more alluring vampire's edge.

Moreover, many paranormal romances involve vamp-vamp romances. Or some other non human pairing.

The main point is that so long as the romance involves characters in human form with all the strengths and weaknesses of humans as we know it, the alter egos such as vampires in disguise is merely giving readers the true and tried with an added element to keep things lively and interesting.

Are you a big fan of vampire fiction?

What are you favorite vampire books, movies, or TV series?

All Men Are Vampires

Vampire romance is, to me, an oxymoron. I don't have issues with human-other love in fiction - I've even written a story in which a slightly mutant human consorts with alien beings. I do, however, draw the line at human-vampire hanky-panky.

• Vampires are not hot guys who just happen to be a little, well, different. However handsome, sophisticated or dangerously alluring they might seem, they are blood-sucking demons. Demons have their place in horror, not romance. Sexy romantic heroes kill all the time, but for noble reasons. They don't kill because they are dark, undead creatures who must prey upon people to maintain their own un-life. Adding teen angst and glitter doesn't change that.
• The combination of death, sex and lust is bizarre. Sex with dead (or 'undead') people reeks of necrophilia. Blood-drinking rituals are creepy and disturbing, not erotic.
• Centuries old creatures seeking the love of teenage girls? Isn't that taking pedophilia to new extremes?

So why are vampire incubi the new rock stars, evidenced by the hordes of squealing teen girls (and their mothers!) buying the books and packing the theatres to drool over pale fanged guys with an insatiable thirst for human blood? I've seen many rationales for the popularity of the genre, including:

• The stories are entertaining and provide pure escapism in grim economic times when readers find reality depressing. Fantasies about vampires, werewolves and such are simply fairy tales for adults, and cool guys with issues is a standard of the romance genre.
• People have an enduring fascination with death. Vampire romances explore this realm and provide an intriguing look into the 'other side' of the life-death equation. According to some, these stories aren't really about vampires; they're about death, immortality, and transformation.
• In our youth-obsessed culture, the fantasy of unending pleasures, unending life and unending youth is irresistible. The hero of the Stephanie Meyer novels is 400 years old yet he has the appearance of an attractive young man - and there's no botox or plastic surgery involved.
• Forbidden love has always been a huge romantic trope. Think Romeo and Juliet, Wuthering Heights, Lady Chatterley's Lover, Lolita, The Thornbirds, The Scarlet Letter, Helen of Troy and Paris, Tristan and Isolde... Vampires are as forbidden as you can get.
• "All men are vampires." (Michael De Groote, writing in The Mormon Times) They are all capable of hurting women very, very badly, far more so than women are capable of hurting men, both in romantic and physical contexts. They inflict scars, literal and psychological, that take a long time to heal, or never heal at all. The greatest threat to women comes not from strangers in dark alleys, but from the men they are intimate with; examine the crime statistics if you doubt this. Women are fascinated - and aroused - by the element of danger in men, a fascination they learn to curb in real life (if they're wise). A vampire is the ultimate dangerous male, and by consorting with him between the covers of a book women get all the excitement and none of the dire consequences - such as ending up in the emergency room or, yanno, dead.

I'm not swayed by any of the above, though. I prefer vampires, those terrifying creatures of the night, in their rightful place in the horror genre. Pretty them up all you like but let them mince along the corridors of nightmare where they belong. They have no place in my romantic fantasies.

—Liane Spicer

Vampires and Sex

The first vampires I ever met stalked Salem’s Lot. Man, they were cool. Deadly, too, but with a disturbingly seductive and rotted beauty. The next vampire novel that I recall with fondness was Robert McCammon’s They Thirst, about some of the nastiest bloodsuckers you’d ever want to meet razing Los Angeles in search of gore. Only later did I venture back to the originators, first to Bram Stoker’s Dracula, then to the even earlier Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu.

In those days I preferred the villainous aspects of the vampire. I recognized the erotic attraction that characters like Carmilla and Dracula had for some readers, but I was far more interested in the horror than the seduction. By the mid-1980s, though, when I began to write seriously myself, a change had swept over vampire literature, initiated, perhaps, by Anne Rice’s 1976 novel Interview with the Vampire. Vamps were still dangerous, but the focus fell increasingly on their seductive and romantic qualities. The age of the antihero vampire was “dawning.”

Anthology series and magazines like Prisoners of the Night, Dead of Night, and The Vampire’s Crypt were pioneers in unleashing this new kind of vampire on the world. These were some of the magazines publishing dark fantasy and horror at the time I became interested in writing in those genres, and by then I was ready to embrace the rising trend. I began to enjoy writing about vampires who were not so much evil as they were “conflicted.” My vampires did bad things; they killed and fed. But they often struggled with the “thirst,” and with their own lost—or not quite lost—humanity.

Recently, a collection of my vampire stories was published, called Midnight in Rosary. There’s a werewolf tale or two in the collection. There’s a ghost. But mostly it’s vampires of various kinds and stripes. I was surprised when I was putting it together that I’d written so many stories about vampires in which they weren’t total villains. There are some nasty ones in there, but most of them have a lot more complexity to their characters, and I found I appreciated that.

I was also surprised that there was so much sex in the stories. Most of what I’ve written in my life would fall under the “adventure” heading, and quite often there is no sex at all, or it’s mostly implied. The stories in Midnight in Rosary are different. The sexual descriptions range from the romantic to the graphic, although I doubt anyone who has read a Laurell K. Hamilton book would be shocked. But there’s quite a lot of sex and it is generally integral in some way to the plot. I have to think that it is the vampire thing that led to this. Eroticism existed as part of the vampire equation from it’s beginnings in Carmilla and Dracula, but it has certainly become far more pronounced over the last 30 years. In the modern day it seems almost impossible to write about vampires without some kind of sexual element.

Vampires can be many things to many people, and that has gone far toward making them the most enduring “monster” in all of literature. It’s a major reason why I’ve visited and revisited them so many times in my work.

So, what do you think of vampires? Is there room for really nasty, non-sexual vamps in today's world? Would anyone read such a book?

Jada, Will and The Holiday Inn -- Part One

Okay, so if you hadn’t read the limo scene in Can You Believe first, you might have thought I stole the idea from Jada Pinkett Smith’s exploits with her husband, Will, on the way to the Academy Awards. Nope. But as reality confirmed, Fallon and Naymond’s luxury backseat tryst is entirely plausible.

That’s the fun and challenge of being a paranormal writer – plausibility. How do you get someone to believe in a world you’ve made up yourself? I have to start with being honest with myself. That means that at least for today, my author interests don’t lie in creating languages and aliens. I think life in good ole Detroit, Michigan, provides plenty of fodder for a trip to the incredible.

Someone asked me just the other day where I get my ideas from. In my last post I wrote about words being where you find them. And for me they are, though it’s not a literal use. For example, my heroine in Where Souls Collide claims a matriarchal psychic lineage.

Well, we don’t have any clairvoyants in the family that I’m aware of, but I’m always tickled by my elderly aunt’s stories of my great-grandmother who was known to leave a man in a heartbeat. If he got on her bad side, she got her trunk and hit the road. Then there are my grandmothers, one who went to cosmetology school and opened her own beauty shop after her daughters were good and grown, and the other who was widowed with three small children and kept her household and faith intact. My mom, too, forged her own path – starting with integrating her high school. The theme I extracted from all this for my story was strong women.

My stories are contemporary. (For now, I’m not doing historicals or futuristics.) They involve familiar settings and situations thrown askew by supernatural intervention. For Fallon and Naymond, the physical therapist and her real estate-selling/wannabe singer husband in Can You Believe, a simple gift gives the couple a glimpse of their future. A reader recently wrote and asked me where she can find that item. Don’t I wish….

I enjoyed the reader’s email because she let me know that I did what I set out to do. The story offered enough of a stretch from the every day to make her want it to be real. I got her to believe.

My father always told me that anything can be rationalized. So in my reality-based fantasy and paranormal, I know it’s key to establish the rules of my world and let the reader know what those are. Anything's possible if I want it to be.

Now, I hope I’m a little more refined in my storytelling than Jada is sometimes (do know, I love me some Jada, and I have since A Different World), but I’m saving the topic of TMI for my next blog on Aug. 16.

See you then.
Stefanie